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Mobile Maps Continue to Fail Pedestrians: Synthesised Reflective Auto-Aggro-Ethnographies of WalkingWe consider mobile maps, the everyday smart-device-based programs that locate the user, provide insights into local space, and support wayfinding – or do they? The authors collectively reflect on past infuriating experiences with failures of mobile maps as pedestrians. We synthesise these thick descriptions, what we call reflective auto-aggro-ethnographies, to identify shortcomings in mobile maps: hidden verticality, missing local detail, incorrect sensor data, and poor pathing. We turn to human-centred design to point out how these shortcomings should be (or, rather, should have been) addressed.more » « lessFree, publicly-accessible full text available April 25, 2026
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While normative – “good” – game design and user experiences have been established, we look to games that challenge those notions. Intentional frustration and failure can be worthwhile. Through a reflexive thematic analysis of 31 games we identify how intentionally non-normative design choices lead to meaningful experiences. Working within the established Mechanics Dynamics Aesthetics (MDA) Game Design Framework, we lay out themes to design Shitty User Experiences (SUX). We contribute SUX MDA themes for designers and researchers to counter the status quo and identify new forms of play and interaction.more » « lessFree, publicly-accessible full text available April 25, 2026
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At times, the interfaces of videogames -- gameworlds -- contain tiny details that go unnoticed. One such detail is how designers employ ! and ? to communicate to players. These punctuation marks have existed in videogames since their creation, yet remain undiscussed by designers. They are used as ways to promote curiosity, as objects, as ways to symbolize excitement, and as a prompt to react. Their varied history is deserving of attention, so we present a chronicle of two pieces of gameworld punctuation: ! and ?. We discuss current and past uses and identify more ways that these could be used in the future. These symbols may present a useful space of inquiry not only for games and games research, but more generally, in terms of the rapid communication of complex information.more » « less
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This design fiction re-imagines an important informational element of the flood early warning system in order to unpack some of the questionable assumptions that society makes about disaster. In presenting an updated, ironic, vision of an alternative system, we highlight some of the ways that received ideas about the root causes of disaster, who is responsible for public safety, and the role of private sector innovation, are so embedded in the design of technologies used in crisis management that they have become taken for granted. This work demonstrates the potential for design fiction to serve as a tool in the evaluation and critique of safety-critical information systems and as a communication tool for conveying the complex findings of disaster research. It also points to new avenues of exploration for crisis informatics work on public warning systems.more » « less
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